The Mind of the Child, Part II: The Development of the Intellect, International Education; Series Edited By William T. Harris, Volume IX.Preyer, William T.
Science
The Mind of the Child, Part II: The Development of the Intellect, International Education; Series Edited By William T. Harris, Volume IX.
Preyer, William T.
Child development; Child psychology
"This cleft was situated so far from the center of the pupil
that it was entirely covered by the iris. With this eye the
patient had a perception of light, and was even capable of
perceiving colors of an intense and decided tone. He believed
himself, moreover, able to perceive about one third of a square
inch of any bright object, if held at the distance of half an
inch or an inch from the eye, and obliquely in such a direction
as to reflect the light strongly toward the pupil. But this, I
am convinced, was a mere delusion, for all rays of light falling
in the direction of the optic axis must have been intercepted
and reflected by the opaque capsule. By these rays, therefore, a
perception of light, indeed, might be conveyed, but certainly no
perception of objects. On the other hand, it seems probable that
the lateral cleft in the capsule permitted rays of light to pass
into the interior of the eye. But as this small aperture was
situated entirely behind the iris, those rays only would have
permeated which came in a very oblique direction from the
temporal side. Admitting, then, these rays of light to pass
through the cleft, still on account of their obliquity they
could produce but a very imperfect image, because they impinged
upon an unfavorable portion of the retina. Moreover, I satisfied
myself by experiments, that the patient could not in the least
discern objects by sight. My experiments led me to the
conclusion that his belief that he really saw objects resulted
solely from his imagination combined with his power of
reasoning. In feeling an object and bringing it in contact with
the eyelids and the cheek, an idea of the object was produced,
which was judged of and corrected according to the experience he
had gained by constant practice.
"The patient's sense of touch had attained an extraordinary
degree of perfection. In order to examine an object minutely he
conveyed it to his lips.
"On the 10th of July, 1840, I performed an operation on the left
eye. The light was so painful to him that I could not try any
experiments immediately after the operation. Both eyes were
closed with narrow strips of court-plaster, and treated with
iced water for forty-eight hours. The patient suffered from
_muscae volitantes_, and could not bear even a mild degree of
light falling on the closed lids. After the lapse of a few
weeks, the _muscae volitantes_ were greatly mitigated, and the
intolerance of light ceased.
"On opening the eye for the first time on the third day after
the operation, I asked the patient what he could see; he
answered that he saw an extensive field of light, in which
everything appeared dull, confused, and in motion. He could not
distinguish objects. The pain produced by the light forced him
to close the eye immediately.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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